Subtitling Strategies Of Numerical Idioms Under The ECRs Model

Idioms have remained an important component in translation studies.However,the studies on numerical idioms,especially those in audiovisual works,have been scattered.In existing studies,there are no classification and translation strategies tailored to numerical idioms.As a result,this paper looks into numerical idioms under the concept of Extralinguistic Cultural References(ECRs)proposed by Pedersen,aiming to increase subtitlers’ understanding of numerical idioms and inspire future translation studies and practices.This study explores the subtitling translation of numerical idioms in The Journey to the West(1986)from the perspective of Pedersen’s ECRs model.It aims to examine the classification of numerical idioms in mythological audiovisual works and the frequency distribution of each type and the corresponding translation strategies,and to figure out whether subtitles of numerical idioms are rendered by source-oriented strategies or target-oriented strategies.Based on the self-constructed corpus,196 examples of numerical idioms can be identified,which can be divided into material-related numerical idioms and cultural-bound numerical idioms.The latter category is subdivided into trans-cultural numerical idioms and mono-cultural numerical idioms.This study finds that material-related numerical idioms and trans-cultural numerical idioms adopt source-oriented strategies,and direct translation and retention are two of the most applied strategies to reproduce the unique language characteristics and facilitate cultural communication.Mono-cultural numerical idioms adopt target-oriented strategies,and generalization and specification are the most applied strategies to avoid cultural confusion and promote the smooth understanding of plots.In addition,the strategy of "omission+retention" are frequently used for mono-cultural idioms.